Offense good, defense better for North 'stars

By Mike Barnhart, for Silicon Valley Community Newspapers

Posted:
07/22/2013 07:32:08 PM PDT

Updated:
07/22/2013 07:32:09 PM PDT

When the North all-stars reported for their first practice in preparation for the 39th annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game, head coach Chris Oswald of Cupertino knew there would be loads of talent on offense.

After all, quarterbacks Michael Lauck of St. Francis and Spenser Quash of Harker Academy each had thrown for more than 2,400 yards during their senior seasons and they had 49 touchdown passes between them. And running backs Roland Luke (Wilcox), Lavon Donald (Leigh) and Jacob Avery (Lincoln) brought impressive credentials, too--a combined 4,300 all-purpose yards and 41 touchdowns.

But it was the defense that impressed Oswald and his crew of assistants most during the10 practices leading up to the annual summer affair also known as the Silicon Valley Youth Classic, sponsored by the Rotary Club of the Almaden Valley.

And it was the defense that sparked the North's 17-6 victory in front of a large crowd July 17 at San Jose City College, ending a three-game winning streak by the South.

"We had more than 8,000 yards in our offensive backfield, but we could not move the ball in practice against our defense," Oswald said, "so I wasn't surprised at how well the defense stopped them tonight."

Led by linebackers Henry Wei (Saratoga), Jason Aguirre (Santa Clara), Corbin Jackson (Wilcox) and Brandon Sualua (Milpitas), the North shut down the South offense until the final moments of the game.

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Trailing 17-0, South quarterback Austin Richelle (Santa Teresa) engineered a 96-yard drive that ate up most of the final 5:30 of the game. Richelle connected with Pioneer's Dominic Barnes for a 6-yard scoring pass along the left sideline to break the shutout with 10.6 seconds to go.

Going for a two-point conversion, Richelle tossed to Barnes in the right flat. Barnes caught the pass, but was smothered behind the line by a host of North defenders.

"It was good to get a score," said Barnes, whose touchdown capped a surprising 22-play journey that began on the South 4-yard line.

The North defense introduced itself right away, after Barnes returned the opening kickoff to the South 30. Two runs and an incomplete pass totaled two yards, forcing the first of five South punts.

After Montana State recruit Jayshawn Gates (Palo Alto) ran back the punt 12 yards to the South 49, the North needed just two plays to hit a quick six.

Running out of the I formation, Donald powered nine yards off left tackle on first down. On the next play, Lauck looked at receiver Kyle Kevorkian (Los Gatos) running a fade pattern up the left side, but then fired a ball to Luke running a post route on the right. Luke caught the ball in stride and crossed the goal line untouched with 8:36 left in the first quarter.

Michael Leitchman (Leigh) kicked the point-after out of the hold of Cris Ortez (Lincoln) to make it 7-0.

Quarterback Drew Fryhoff (Pioneer), who will play for Division III Concordia University of Chicago next fall, rallied the South on its subsequent possession.

Starting at its 33, the South moved to the North 35 in just five plays. Fryhoff connected on a third-and-5 play with wide receiver Isaiah Hardy (Sobrato) for 19 yards and a first down. Fryhoff followed that with a seven-yard gainer to A.Z. Dyer (Piedmont Hills) to the 36. Among the pass blockers on those plays were center Grant Longmire (Valley Christian), guard Dominic Luca (Bellarmine) and tackle Zach Shong (Leland).

But the North toughened and allowed just one yard over the next three plays and regained the ball on downs. Aguirre and Patrick McCaffrey (Santa Clara) stopped a run up the middle after one yard. Adam Apolinar (Cupertino) rushed in and pressured Fryhoff into an incomplete pass on third down. Then, on fourth-and-2, linemen Bobby O'Leary of Archbishop Mitty and Spencer Drazovich of Palo Alto stopped Sobrato's Miguel Redmond for no gain.

Lauck, a Saratoga resident who will continue his football career at Division III University of La Verne in southern California, immediately moved the North near midfield with a 14-yard pass to Kevorkian. Three plays later, on third-and-9, Lauck demonstrated his athleticism and grit. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder rolled left, looking to pass, but scrambled away from the rush and cut back to the right for 25 yards--the longest run by either team--and a first down at the South 23.

The South slowed the North down a bit, as Barnes, lineman Eddie Lucero (Evergreen Valley) and linebackers Ethan Stanton (Pioneer) and Will Ossai (Oak Grove) all made tackles and halted the drive at the 9.

The North called upon Leitchman, who will compete for the kicking job at De Anza College this fall, and he drilled a 26-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 2:14 left in the opening period.

During the drive the North lost the services of Vita Vea, a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder, who dominated as a defensive tackle and a ball carrier in short yardage for Milpitas last fall. Vea, who plans on playing at Washington, kept the drive alive, picking up a first down on a third-and-2, but he injured his right knee on the play.

Earlier, the South lost running back Nick Bernardo (Oak Grove), Blossom Valley Athletic League's MVP, who hobbled to the South sideline after a two-yard run and did not return.

Determined to get on the scoreboard after Leitchman's field goal, the South went on an 11-play drive, starting at its 27. Fryhoff picked up first downs with passes of 15 yards to 6-foot-4 tight end Alex Abiog (Bellarmine) and eight to Gilroy receiver Brendan Holler. Andy Anderson, Jr. of Independence also kept the chains moving with an 8-yard run.

Again, though, the North defense ended the threat at the 35. Fryhoff's third-down pass was dropped and his fourth-down delivery to Barnes was broken up by Sualua.

Harker's Quash relieved Lauck at quarterback and directed the North's last two drives of the first half. The first one ended on an interception by Jack Pizzo (Leland) at the South 20. The next one, following a South punt, resulted in the North's final points of the game, a 4-yard scoring pass from Quash to tight end De'Antay Williams (Palo Alto) and Leitchman's PAT kick.

Starting at his team's 45 with 3:11 to go before halftime, Quash guided the North 55 yards on nine plays. He swept right end on a keeper for nine yards, and Avery ran seven yards for a first down two plays later. Quash picked up two more firsts with completions to Kevorkian for 10 and Mitty's Jacob Wesson for 19.

"We made that play up in the huddle during the timeout," Oswald said of the Quash-to-Williams' scoring toss.

The North had stopped the clock at 23.6 with its last timeout of the half. After Kevorkian went in motion to the right, the speedy Quash rolled the same way on a bootleg. With Kevorkian taking some of the coverage away, Williams was able to work free cutting across the defense, and Quash found him.

The North defense again proved its mettle at the start of the second half, after the South recovered a bouncing kickoff at the North 27.

But three plays gained just three yards and then Ortez jumped in front of Fryhoff's fourth-down pass for an interception at the 11.

"It was an out pattern and I just read it," said Ortez, who will play at San Jose City. "We like to call it the no-fly zone."

"He was like our motivator back there," Oswald said of Ortez. "He came every day with the best attitude."

The defenses ruled most of the second half, the North forcing three punts and the South forcing two and picking off two more passes. Defensive back Khari Vanderbilt (Independence) and linebacker Brandon Duran (Live Oak) ended a pair of Lauck-led North threats. Duran intercepted a deep pass at the 13 and returned it out to the 27, giving the South the ball with 29 seconds left in the third quarter.

After another punt exchange, the South all-stars took the ball at its 4 with about 5:30 and gradually made its way down the field. A 15-yard penalty against the North, an 11-yard run by JoJo Valenzuela (Independence) and several short pass plays kept the drive going.

Richelle completed 9 of 14 passes for 74 yards on the drive. Four of the throws were grabbed by Abiog for 53 yards, including the longest play of the game, a 26-yarder to the 6 with 20.8 seconds remaining.

Richelle finished the game with 84 passing yards on 11-for-18 accuracy and Fryhoff completed 5 of 16 for 52 yards. For the North, Lauck was 7-for-14 for 96 yards, while Quash connected on 4 of 9 for 51.

Abiog's five catches for 68 yards led all receivers. Kevorkian was the top pass catcher for the North with four for 46 yards. Luke caught three for 60 and Williams had two grabs for 22. Barnes caught two for the South for 10 yards and Redmond had two for five.

"This was an awesome experience," said Kevorkian, who is going to USC for academics but might try to walk on to play for the Trojans. "It was cool playing in this game, especially since I played at the school where Charlie Wedemeyer coached."

"All of us North players knew what we had to do, since we hadn't won in a while," said Donald, one of many all-stars who will continue their careers at De Anza.

The North finished with 264 yards of total offense, all but 59 of that in the first half, while the South totaled 193, nearly one-half of that on the final possession.

Among the blockers on the North line were Kevin Tjon (Los Gatos), Jon Olsen (Saratoga) and Joseph Mikaio (Wilcox).

But it was the defenses that garnered most of the highlights.

Santa Clara's Dion Perry, who was in the linebacker rotation for the North, finished with a game-high seven tackles. Wei, Jackson, Aguirre and Hirschbek delivered five each, while McCaffrey had four and O'Leary, Sualua and T.J. Towns (Santa Clara) scored three hits apiece. Gunn lineman Aryeh Furman made two stops, as did Ortez, Drazovich, Lytle, Apolinar and Chris Malone (Milpitas). James Hayes (Prospect), Eli Hawkins (Cupertino), Flores, Luke, Avery and Zarrabi also made tackles.

"This was one of the most fun experiences I have had," said Wei, who will be teammates with Palo Alto's Drazovich at Claremont McKenna College in southern California. "A lot of the players were from our league. We hated each other during the season, but by the second practice we really gelled and we were like old friends."

Barnes and Stanton, who plan on joining San Jose State as walk-on players this fall, led the South with four tackles apiece. San Jose defensive end Tarik Ballard and Sione Aonga (Piedmont Hills) had three stops apiece and tipped passes at the line of scrimmage. Abiog and Luca also made three tackles. Russell Neeley (Pioneer) and Joseph Mooney (Santa Teresa) added two each.

"Being a part of this game was special," said Lynbrook head coach Jim Grassi, one of several coaches who assisted Oswald with the North. "There was multiple talent at every position, and it was amazing how quick they bonded."

Pioneer's Fryhoff made a similar observation about the South all-stars.

"There was good team chemistry," Fryhoff said. "It felt like we had been together all year."